SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome matters. Its history of empire, conquest, cruelty and excess is something against which we still judge ourselves. Its myths and stories - from Romulus and Remus to the rape of Lucretia - still strike a chord with us. And its debates about citizenship, security and the rights of the individual still influence our own debates on civil liberty today. SPQR is a new look at Roman history from one of the world's foremost classicists.

The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

The sun is setting on the Western world. Slowly but surely, the direction in which the world spins has reversed: where for the last five centuries the globe turned westward on its axis, it now turns to the east.... For centuries, fame and fortune were to be found in the West - in the New World of the Americas. Today it is the East that calls out to those in search of adventure and riches. The region stretching from Eastern Europe and sweeping right across Central Asia, deep into China and India, is taking center stage.

The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World

Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.

The Modern Scholar: World's First Superpower: From Empire to Commonwealth, 1901-Present

This course will examine the development of the British Empire from the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, via its greatest territorial extent in 1919 to its eventual decline and end in the years after World War II, and its final transformation into the Commonwealth of independent nations.

The Modern Scholar: Evolutionary Psychology I: The Science of Human Nature

"Why do we do what we do?" In this thought-provoking series of lectures, Professor Allen D. MacNeill examines the surprising - and sometimes unsettling - answers to this most basic of human questions. The remarkable new field of evolutionary psychology takes a scientific approach to the evolution of human nature. Analyzing human behavior in relation to food, clothing, shelter, health care, and sex, Evolutionary Psychology proves an immensely stimulating exploration of human endeavor.

The American Civil War

Between 1861 and 1865, the clash of the greatest armies the Western hemisphere had ever seen turned small towns, little-known streams, and obscure meadows in the American countryside into names we will always remember. In those great battles, those streams ran red with blood-and the United States was truly born.

The Foundations of Western Civilization

What is Western Civilization? According to Professor Noble, it is "much more than human and political geography," encompassing myriad forms of political and institutional structures - from monarchies to participatory republics - and its own traditions of political discourse. It involves choices about who gets to participate in any given society and the ways in which societies have resolved the tension between individual self-interest and the common good.

No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life

What is life? What is my place in it? What choices do these questions obligate me to make? More than a half-century after it burst upon the intellectual scene - with roots that extend to the mid-19th century - Existentialism's quest to answer these most fundamental questions of individual responsibility, morality, and personal freedom, life has continued to exert a profound attraction.

The Modern Scholar: The Norsemen - Understanding Vikings and Their Culture

Professor Michael D.C. Drout of Wheaton College immerses listeners in the extraordinary legacy of Viking civilization, which developed in what is now Scandinavia during the early Middle Ages. During the course of these lectures, Professor Drout explores how these peoples conquered all of Northern Europe, traveled as far as Byzantium in the East and North America in the West, and left a literary legacy that includes numerous works studied and enjoyed to this day.

The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition

Grasp the important ideas that have served as the backbone of philosophy across the ages with this extraordinary 60-lecture series. This is your opportunity to explore the enormous range of philosophical perspectives and ponder the most important and enduring of human questions-without spending your life poring over dense philosophical texts.

Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science

Understanding our humanity - the essence of who we are - is one of the deepest mysteries and biggest challenges in modern science. Why do we have bad moods? Why are we capable of having such strange dreams? How can metaphors in our language hold such sway on our actions? As we learn more about the mechanisms of human behavior through evolutionary biology, neuroscience, anthropology, and other related fields, we're discovering just how intriguing the human species is.

Publisher's Summary

In the land of Tawantinsuyu (The Four Parts Together) the Incas reigned in the late 15th century over the greatest empire ever seen in the independent Americas. Their territory included parts of the present-day countries of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Yet we know little of these people, especially from firsthand written accounts.

This course introduces the Incas, a small ethnic group from the southern Peruvian highlands, who forged a civilization rich in material and culture and expanded their domain to control large expanses of territory in a short period of time through diplomacy, enculturation, and military force.

A Powerful Story and a Potent Legacy

The story of the Incas is a powerful one, and their legacy remains a potent influence in the Andes of South America. In this insightful lecture series, Columbia University professor Terence D'Altroy focuses on Inca life at the height of the empire, the society's origins, its military, religion, ruling structure, and finally, the Inca legacy today.

I chose this because I am going to Peru next year and plan to visit Macchu Pichu and other Inca sites, so wanted to go prepared with some background knowledge. This was the only audible book I could find on the subject so I took a risk, half expecting a dry indigestible history book.

This book isn't like that at all. It provided a very complete grounding into the rise, reign and downfall of the Incas as a well-structured series of discrete lectures, each focusing on a specific aspect. Some parts are a but dryer than others - but that is inevitable. Any book that is going to cover all aspects of Inca rule will have to go into some areas that are less exciting than others. But overall this is a book anyone interested in genning up on the Incas will enjoy. It's all there and presented very engagingly.

This is pretty well-written, well-researched, and comprehensive; as written a great introduction to the Incas with just enough scholarly discussion of reliability and ambiguity of the numerous source materials. Both "traditional" and modern scholarship on the Incas are well-represented. Overall, I'd highly recommend this to anyone wanting to learn about the Incas, for anyone who wants to brush up, or for Andeanists who might be familiar with all this, but still find having it whispered in their ear comforting.

The recording itself has various problems, such as repeated sections, but nothing too terrible. The reading is not bad, but seems a bit like the recording process was rushed and a little uncomfortable for Dr. D'Altroy. The pronunciation of Quechua words is surprisingly horrible for someone who spent years doing fieldwork in central Perú.

So... give it a listen! If you have knowledge of Quechua just laugh a bit; if you don't, please don't use this as a reference for its pronunciation!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Robert

concord, NH, United States

17/05/11

Overall

"Essential"

After reading this books reviews I was curious if I would be wasting my money In buying it. I needed something for my upcoming trip to Machu Picchu so I decided to give it a shot (good decision). One of the things that I liked about this lecture series was the size, 14 lectures. I needed a quick listen because I had booked my trip on the fly and time was running out, most of this would be listened to in airports and planes.

So the audio book was fine to Fantastic, and It was worth the purchase. I
think there may be a difference in my review because of my mission, as a
trained areonautical engineer you focus on mission and when reviewing this I needed: backgrund on the incas, background on cuzco, background on the inca trail, cultural understanding and the inca story.

I think this is a tall order for any lecture series! However, the book delivered on it all, as I sit in my Lima hotel room Getting ready for my last day out in the city of kings, before heading to the states, I had to pause and give the author a "Very Well Done." My trip Peru would not have been the same without this lecture series.

The material was clear, interesting and kept my attention, moreover it was needed as the storys you will get told from guides will vary and you need a baseline. When I travel I like to have the history on a place, So if you plan on doing a little research on a trip and want the benefit of a person that is obviously very educated on the topic then get this audio book, if you just like to learn get this book. Personally I find learning very entertaining. While the lecturer could have been a better storyteller it was not bad, not bad at all. I strongly recommend this title.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Rick

Urcuquí, Ecuador

26/12/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"A Fleeting Empire"

As a resident of the Andes, I thought I’d better learn a little more about the Incas, whose legendary empire encompassed immense portions of South America and established monumental cities and road systems—but really lasted only a century in its full imperial incarnation.

Terence D’Altroy knows his Inca (and pre-Inca) history, and his lectures are lively and articulate. The recording does have some editing errors causing repetitions, and the droning “announcer” before and after each section, with the contrived insertion of one question from an unheard student, recalls the most deadly of voices from the old days of classroom films. But that is cosmetic, and overall, this very accessible series of lectures offers more than almost anyone could wish to know about the lightning rise and dizzying fall of one of the greatest and briefest of the world’s dynasties.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

antonio

genthod, Switzerland

10/10/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"ok, but a bit too didactic"

This is more a book addressed to students that need to learn about the different aspects of the Incas civilization for a specific exam, than to "average Joe" interested to learn about the history of a great civilization in all its vibrant aspects . The clash with the Spaniards and the end of the Incas empire is dealt quickly in the last chapter , almost as it was an addendum to the details of the religious ceremonials or of the variety of the Incas pottery. The recording (and at times the reading) of prof D'Altroy is at times poor ; not a big deal, but gives a sense of sloppiness

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Vinicius Moreira

Franklinton, Louisiana United States

29/09/11

Overall

Performance

Story

"Comprehensive quick description of the Incas"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This program is interesting and the content is reasonably comprehensive, although because of its breadth, details were only briefly presented, which in turn, leads me to the next aspect: books to compare.

What other book might you compare The Modern Scholar to and why?

Rather than compare, I would suggest people listen to the "Last Days of the Incas", before taking this lecture. That book is more paced and the author takes its time describing details more thoroughly. It will help with understanding Professor's D'Altroy's lecture.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

Rotterdam, Netherlands

19/03/11

Overall

"Interesting topic told in a less interesting way"

Some parts were very interesting, other parts were told in a way that made it difficult to follow. There are also 2 or 3 mistakes in cutting of the audio book, which do not make the material unintelligible, but still, shouldn't be there.
All in all, it's not a bad audio book, but there are better pieces from Modern Scholar.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Jason Cherniak

Richmond Hill, ON, CA

18/10/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Ok"

This was fine as an introduction, but there was very little discussion of differing theories or interesting stories.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

H. Alotaibi

18/06/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Repeats paragraphs"

I found some repeats in chapter 1 and 2; for example in chapter 2 the story about cocoa leaf repeats.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Doris

Salunga, PA, United States

31/07/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Original, or ....?"

I just finished this lecture and this morning started to listen to Charles Mann's "1491." About three hours into the Mann book, I thought I'd somehow pressed a repeat button, because I was hearing the exact words I'd heard yesterday - until I remembered that yesterday I was listening to D'Altroy's lecture, not Mann's book. Coincidence? I think not.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

California

28/06/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Good but not outstanding"

If you could sum up The Modern Scholar in three words, what would they be?

knowledgeable

What did you like best about this story?

Good content, but not as analytic or thematic as I would have liked

What about Terence N. D'Altroy’s performance did you like?

Well spoken and articulate

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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